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Councilor seeks bid review on Lowell Auditorium

Kennedy may push for starting process over

By Lyle Moran, lmoran@lowellsun.com

Updated:
02/02/2013 06:35:48 AM EST

LOWELL -- City Councilor Ed Kennedy is calling on the city's administration to consider restarting the process to bring on a new management firm for the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in the aftermath of only one company submitting a bid to manage the historic facility.

The city announced Thursday that Global Spectrum, the firm that manages the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell and more than 100 facilities worldwide, was the sole firm to submit a response to the request for proposals Lowell issued about a month ago for auditorium management.

"I was really disappointed there was only one company that submitted a proposal," Kennedy said. "I have not seen Global's proposal, but I'd prefer if there was something to compare it to and some competition.

"It seems to be a good idea to take another look at this and re-issue the (request for proposals)."

Kennedy stressed he wants the city to be very prudent about the process of bringing on a new management firm because the city is seeking a company that could manage the important downtown facility for the next eight years, beginning July 1.

According to the RFP, the city is seeking to sign a five-year contract with a firm, and the contract would include a mutual option to extend the contract for up to three additional years.

Kennedy has filed a motion for Tuesday's City Council meeting calling on City Manager Bernie Lynch to seek advice and recommendations from the city's Lowell Memorial Auditorium Commission regarding the request for proposals the city issued for the auditorium.

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"The auditorium commission will have to work with the new management company, so they should be involved in the RFP process," Kennedy said.

The councilor has also filed a motion for Tuesday's meeting calling on Lynch to appoint three members to the auditorium commission as soon as possible.

Kennedy is not the first city councilor to raise the issue of the auditorium board not being involved with the RFP process.

City Councilor Rita Mercier criticized Lynch during a council meeting last month for what she believes was the city ignoring the board. She said she thought that out of a "matter of courtesy" the board would have been consulted about the city's effort to secure a new management firm.

Lynch said Friday the auditorium's board was not involved in the development of the RFP, but was given a copy of it after it went out.

The manager said at this point city officials should review Global's proposal before deciding whether to re-start the RFP process. The evaluation team for the auditorium bid review includes Chief Procurement Officer Michael Vaughn, Assistant City Manager Adam Baacke, Lowell Chief Financial Officer Tom Moses, Cultural Organization of Lowell Director Susan Halter and a yet-to-be-determined member of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium board of trustees.

But ultimately, the final decision on the bid is Lynch's.

"It strikes me as premature to decide whether we should jump on this proposal or throw it out," Lynch said. "The proposal may be a tremendous opportunity for the city that can't be missed."

The manager said the evaluation committee will have to closely scrutinize whether the Global proposal meets the scope of services sought and also evaluate the financial terms of the bid.

Lynch said he is hopeful for a new contract that not only eliminates the city's annual subsidy of $320,000 for auditorium operations, but also includes a strong profit-sharing provision for the city.

The city always has the option of not awarding a contact, Lynch said, but he dismissed concerns about the fact only one bidder stepped forward after several had expressed interest. The manager said it was his understanding that the last time the city put out an RFP for the auditorium only one company came forward.

But Mercier suggested last month the city was setting it up so that only one bidder would come forward to manage the East Merrimack Street facility.

"The way the RFP was changed, it looks like there was only one bidder in mind," she said.

Michael Vaughn, Lowell's chief procurement officer, said Friday he would never design an RFP with just one bidder in mind.

"I was hoping for as much open and fair competition as we could get," Vaughn said.

The opportunity to manage the auditorium has opened up because Mill City Management announced late last year that it would not seek a new contract after 17 years of successfully running the facility. Mill City Management's tenure officially ends June 30.

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